Exegesis

Exegesis

“Design is problem solving. Graphic design is problem solving on a flat two-dimensional surfaces. The designer conceives, plans, and executes designs that communicates a specific message to a specific audience within given limitations- financial, physical, or psychological.” (Arntson 1993)

Graphic design is leading to creativity, society, and business. It plays an important role of written texts in a publication is read by its audiences. In the course Issues in Publication and Design, it has studied the works of theorists including Kress, Walsh, Reep and Wheildon when designing any written publication. This essay will study the theories of design and three artefacts based on the etiquette from Emily Post. The artefacts are textual interventions of the book ‘Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home’ by Emily Post and explain manners in different situations. In this essay, the three artefacts are based on the etiquette when drinking at a bar, when travelling on a bus and when having a job interview as an employee. Communication and visual design are involved of these artefacts. 

The textual intervention is based on work of Emily Post, who was a 19^th century American etiquette authority. The artefact pieces referred to in this essay are intervention into Emily’s book ‘Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at home’. The etiquette is a guide for polite conversation and good manner. Emily states that manners are made up of trivialities of deportment which can be easily learned if one does not happen to know them. The Post gives people lots of tips on communication, wedding planning, party giving and manner in public and private setting. Without etiquette and manner, people would not have respect to each other in this society.

The text that students encounter today are often multimodal, meaning they incorporate a variety of modes, including hypertext, visual images, and graphic design elements along with written text (Kress 2003). Visual images and design of a multimodal text what these objects and elements mean and the inferences drawn to the world outside the text is an important aspect of the comprehension process (Serafini 2003). The comprehension of visual images always begins with the perception of the visuals that artists, illustrators, and graphic designers use to render a story and communicate to readers (van Leeuwen 2005).

‘Multiliteracies’ refers to multimodal texts and to know about the way different modes of meaning-making construct texts (Cope and Kalantzis 2000). According to Cope, ‘Multiliteracies’ also reflects increasing the connection between writers and texts and audiences. Multimodal text analysis has become a crucial part of research, teaching and practice for a wide range of academic and practical disciplines. A variety of techniques, theoretical frameworks and methodologies have therefore evolved for such analysis. For linguists, in particular, it concerned with taking account for the communication of meaning within texts, issues arising from the consideration of semiotic resources other than language, in interaction with each other and with language – such as visual art, image-text relation and design layout, image and sound design and production resources, etc. Meanwhile, the emergence of multimodal studies as a distinct area of study in linguistics has also revealed a range of issues specifically relevant to the multimodal text analyst.

 Good design is effective communication. Design is the way to communicate, usually the written text, to the reader in such a way as to encourage their interest and desire to read. Every element in design has meanings, and it is important for the designer to both know what this meaning is.

The first artefact piece was a textual intervention based on Emily Post named ‘Formal dinner’ from the book ‘Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Polities and at home’. This artefact was presented as a book, making it to be a guide for the audience while having a formal dinner.  The book includes a number of levels of text and some images to create interest for readers. The front cover is created in a simple and clear design that is suitable for all level of readers who have a formal dinner. Book covers showing how images are used which create a relationship between a series of books (Warford 1971). According to Warford, a book includes interpolations which might well need to go into a smaller type size and a different format.  The design layout relates the elements on a printed publication in a way that communicates and has aesthetic appeal. The form of design layout enhances the communication. In a design, every element on the page affects how the other elements are perceived (Arntson 1993). An important element in design layout is the images. Poor page design can make a beautiful image lose readers’ interest. Good images are strong in design and reader interest can look lifeless with certain design mistakes. The headline of this artefact was written in a number of texts than images or others. It created a good strong grid. The image used on the cover page was to attract readers’ eye.

 Written text is concerned with production of the publication. It involves writing the appropriate text, organizing it clearly, and presenting it in a simple and clear language with appropriate materials (Hartley 1978). There are a number of features that help readers to find their way around a text. (Hartley 1978) states that italicized characters are often used in instructional material as the meaning of emphasizing a word in the text, for the titles of books when these appear in the writing of the text and in bibliographic references.

 The second artefact piece was based on bus etiquette. This artefact was presented as a brochure, making it a guideline for the audience who can refer it while travelling on a bus. The brochure contains amounts of text and images on each page to create interest for audiences. This is important in designing a brochure that users are convenience to carry with and easy to read. It is for who do not know how to use public transport. The front page is created in a simple and creative design that is for all levels of age groups who travel on a bus. Headlines in this artefact are emphasised using bold font, colour, and images. These headlines make the brochure more interesting and easier to read. The heading on the front cover is in dark colour to create a first focus point. The brochure has a layout for the third folded. The page is set horizontally and is used a three column grid. These issues were important in designing a brochure that users would be easy to carry with them and who do not know how to use public transport.

The choice of sound for this artefact was made to create the experience of travelling on a bus. The sounds of a bus loading passengers, traffic bustle, and passenger sneezing that add to this brochure. Readers can imagine the experience of travelling on a bus before they use this form of public transport.  

The final artefact piece was based on bar etiquette and was created as a flyer. The main role of flyer is information, getting readers to realise the availability of something. Graph design is a creative visual arts discipline that takes in many areas. It may include art direction, typography, page layout, information technology and other creative aspects (Ambrose & Harris 2009). Design can bring several layers of meanings or different ideas by using various graphic devices. These layers can convey an idea beyond the simple formal presentation of information in a piece of communication as they are able to connect with ideas and references held by the audiences (Ambrose & Harris 2009). 

Williams states that repeat some aspect of the design throughout the entire piece. The repetitive element may be a bold font, line, colour, images, and other design elements. Colour is the most powerful communicator in nature (Cookman 1990). All colours have a meaning. Colour can bring a design to life, help to establish hierarchies, highlight key information and add pace to a design. Colour is important in this brochure because a colourful design layout makes the overall of the brochure better. It will attract the attention of readers. The purpose of images in the brochure was helped to show readers what the experience of drinking at a bar.

In conclusion, it has been shown that multimodal publications are effective in communicating within the text. It plays an important role of written texts in a publication is read by its audiences. For communicating with text, the writer needs to make sure that the text are relevant to the other design elements. Communicating through images the writer needs to remember that each reader will interpret the text differently and may mean more to the reader that what the writer intended. It will increase the level of understanding the audience obtains. A print publication is the best way for the writer to communicate with their audience and how they are going to interpret the text.

References

Kress, G 2003, Literacy in the new media age, London: Routledge

Van Leeuwen, T 2005, Introducing social semiotics, London: Routledge

Cookman, B 1990, Desktop design, 2^nd Edith, Blueprint, London

Arntson, A.E. 1993, Graphic design basic, 2^nd Edith, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, USA

Ambrose, G & Harris, P 2009, The fundamentals of Graphic Design, Academia, USA

Cope, B and Kalantzis, M 2000, Multiliteracies: The Design of Social Futures, Macmillan Education Australia, Melbourne

Warford, H.S. 1971, Design for Print Production, Focal Press, New York

Hartley, J 1978, Designing Instructional Text, 3^rd Edith, Nichols Publishing, London

Williams, R 2004, The Non - Designer’s Design Book, 2^nd Edith, Peachpit Press, California